Both of my children are out for a few hours, and I'm sitting here in a house so quiet that it's positively eerie. I've promised myself this time to write - though whether I'm even still capable of writing in uninterrupted quiet remains to be seen
First though, I wanted to pop in and say thanks for the feedback on the last part. I always feel a little guilty that I don't respond to reviews more consistently, but I have so little time, and I figure you'd rather have more of the story than to hear me natter on about it! I do appreciate everyone's comments so much, though, and am grateful to those of you who take the time to let me know your thoughts.
Since I have a little extra time today, though:
Ann, I'm convinced you couldn't leave sloppy feedback if you tried! I always enjoy hearing what you have to say - maybe especially on this story, since I know you're a Lois fan, and my Lois has been pretty hard for you to take in this one. I really hoped that this part would soften the readers toward her at least a little bit by contrasting what she has in the way of support with what Clark had in the previous chapter. Yes, he only has two people in whom he can confide, but they're two *wonderful* people, and he knows they love him unconditionally. Lois doesn't have that, and yes, it's partly her own fault for being so prickly, but it's still sad (to me, anyway) that having kept people out for so long she now finds it impossible to reach out to anyone when she really needs to. As Terry said:
It's also worthy of note that while Clark can talk to his parents about most of this stuff, Lois can't talk to anyone.
This is exactly what I was going for with this chapter. Clark has gentle guidance and unconditional love from his folks, and Lois has absentee parents and Lucy, who is sweet and certainly loves her sister, but in a needy way that is no help to Lois right now.
That whole coffee business was just fantastic, and I'd quote pretty much the whole thing if I could. Loved the injection of humor with "It was impossible to come up with decent similes without coffee, for goodness’ sake." (I write for a living, and am dependent on caffeine, so I particularly enjoyed that. )
Chris, the funny thing about this is that I wrote that part at 5:30 in the morning while waiting for my coffee to finish brewing. I wrote "as daunting as scaling Mount Everest..." and then thought,
"Blech. Cliched much? Did I really just write that? I think I did. I shouldn't be allowed to write without coffee..." Then it occurred to me that maybe Lois-without-coffee might have trouble with original imagery too! (Plus, I didn't have to come up with something else that way.) Anyway, I'm glad you thought it worked
Incidentally, I used to write for a living, too, and I've never met a writer who
wasn't dependent on caffeine. It's one of the things they don't warn you about in journalism school.
Poor Clark... he's like a lost puppy. Can I keep him?
Lost puppy, huh? Well, I gave out kittens with the last story, so what the heck - you can have him if Lois doesn't claim him within the time I've allotted her
.
I can't think of any authors with your ability to bring the supporting cast alive. It's like you know them personally.
Arawn, thank you so much for this lovely compliment. I think good characterization is at the heart of fan fiction, so there is nothing you could say that would mean more to me as a writer than telling me that these people seem real to you. As a new writer in the fandom, I still feel like I'm feeling my way with these characters, trying to find the words that fit in their mouths and the thoughts that run through their heads. It's tricky but also lots of fun and probably has a lot to do with why I read and write fan fiction in the first place: I love the characters and want more of them. I want to bring them back to life for a little while and let them take up residence in my imagination. I'm delighted if I'm able to do that, even a little.
And thanks to everyone who commented on the Clark-bringing-Lois-coffee scene, which is one of those that's been stuck in my head since I started the story. I was really looking forward to writing it and hoping I could get it from my head to the page intact.
Yes, Clark
is very sweet, but remember he's also feeling very guilty at the moment, having realized the night before that he hadn't been completely honest with Lois either. So his bringing coffee was partly to soothe his own conscience, I think, and to hopefully make any further conversation he might have to have with her about the efficacy of condoms, or lack thereof, easier. As Lisa said:
That's not to say that he didn't have an ulterior motive - he probably hoped that the gesture would touch Lois and create a little opening in her defenses. And it did.
He hopes
LaraMoon, I'm SO sorry about your back - what a misery! - and glad that I could provide you with a little entertainment. I do hope you feel better soon.
And now I'm off to write about the ball, which is another of those scenes that's been living in my head. So many possibilities for UST at a formal ball, don't you think?
Thanks again to all who have commented!
Best,
Caroline